Iran refuses plane carrying Iraqi lawmaker

Baghdad, Oct 7 (Xinhua) Iran has refused the landing of a plane carrying Iraqi parliament speaker on its territory citing a technical problem at the airport, media reports said Monday. Iran’s embassy in Baghdad said in a statement that Mahmoud al-Mashhadani’s plane was refused to land at the Tehran Airport because there was a technical problem there.

Iraqi media has reported that Mashhadani was on a one-day visit to Iran. He is scheduled to head to Syria Tuesday to attend the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting, reports said.

Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi Qomi later apologised for the incident.